Jeff Bobo

ROGERSVILLE — Hawkins County firefighters responded to three fires Wednesday afternoon that destroyed two homes, seriously damaged another, and left about a dozen people homeless.

The Red Cross responded to all three fires to assist with temporary lodging and other necessities.

The Striggersville Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to the first fire at 3:20 p.m. at the home of Georgiann Muscher, 327 Pinhook Road, just south of Rogersville. Muscher lived alone.

Hawkins County Emergency Management Agency director Gary Murrell, who is also a member of the Striggersville Department, said fire trucks were unable to get close to the residence due to icy roads. Firefighters resorted to running two large hoses to the mobile home.

The trailer had flames coming from the roof when they arrived, Murrell added.

“The living room was on fire and it had gotten into the roof of the trailer by the time we got there,” Murrell said. “The lady was trying to stay warm and she stoked her stove up too hot and it got out into the flu part of the trailer and caught it on fire. We saved two-thirds of the trailer.

“When she left and called 911 the doors were shut, starved its oxygen and it kept the fire contained to one part of the trailer. She lost quite a bit of her stuff in two rooms that had quite a bit of smoke damage.”

Firefighters from the Persia department assisted at the first fire.

While still fighting that first fire Striggersville divided its forces in half at 4:15 p.m. to assist the Lakeview Volunteer Fire Department in fighting a house fire at 116 Bert Price Road west of Rogersville.

The home is owned by Rodney Goins, who was not home when the fire started. But, Goins’ brother, Daniel Goins told the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office a fire was burning in the fireplace near a couch when he smelled smoke and noticed the couch was on fire. Goins stated he attempted to put out the fire but was eventually forced out of the residence by smoke.

The house was a total loss. Aside from the brothers, a woman and a small child resided at the residence, Murrell said.

“When the first units from Lakeview got there it was fully involved,” Murrell said. “It’s a total loss. There’s nothing left to tell you a house has even been there except a pile of ashes. It was a hot fire.”

Persia and Bulls Gap firefighters also assisted at the second fire.

While Striggersville firefighters were battling the house fire on Bert Price Road they were called back to a new trailer fire shortly before 5 p.m. at 165 Pinhook Road near where the first fire had been.

Jeffery Glatt, who resided in the second Pinhoof Road mobile home, told the HCSO the flu from the wood burning stove caught on fire and spread throughout the residence.

“It was a single-wide mobile home with a wood stove, and they were cold and they tried to put too much wood in it and set the trailer on fire,” Murrell said. “It was coming through the roof when we got there. We ran into the same problem as we did with the first one, the driveways were iced over and we couldn’t get our trucks where we needed to.

“By the time we got set up it was pretty much fully involved. It had a garage and another trailer within 50 feet and we had to try to protect them.”

Murrell said five or six people lived in the third residence. Although everyone escaped without injury, they lost everything.